Who We Are and What We Do

The Development & Membership committee (DevMem) is responsible for the OTW’s fundraising, including membership drives and thank-you gifts. The OTW is a nonprofit organization which relies wholly on donations, so financial contributions are one way to directly support the OTW and its projects.

Twice a year, DevMem coordinates membership drive weekends, which encourage donations by setting fundraising targets. In the past, these have been both financial milestones and OTW membership milestones, set by the Finance committee. We also work with Communications to schedule news posts and content during membership drives, and with Translation to make our drives available to a wider audience by translating information into multiple languages.

DevMem also takes care of OTW memberships! When making a single donation of US$10 or more through the online donation form, donors can choose to become OTW members for one year, allowing them to vote in OTW elections. DevMem is responsible for maintaining secure records of donations and by extension the database of OTW memberships. During Board elections, we coordinate with Elections to distribute ballots and voting information to eligible OTW members, along with confirming whether Board candidates are OTW members themselves.

DevMem is also responsible for premiums, which are optional thank-you gifts for donations made over certain dollar amounts. We design, order and ship the premiums, and communicate with donors about their gifts. The donation form lists the current selection of premiums.

Internal Structure

Development & Membership is led by 1 or more chairs, who manage a team of around 10-20 volunteers. Volunteers generally specialize in the following roles, with each role having 1-5 volunteers:

• Graphic Designers, who create graphics for membership drives, premiums, and other promotional materials
• Membership Data Specialists, who maintain the confidential database of donator and membership information, respond to inquiries about memberships and past donations, monitor incoming donations and report potential bugs in the donation form, and more
• Premiums Specialists, who work with third-party vendors to order and ship premiums
• Shipping Specialists, who ship out donation gifts in specific regions to save on international shipping costs.

Memberships Over Time

Contact Us

If you want more information about donating and membership, you can reference our FAQ. However, you are also welcome to contact us directly—about your donations, memberships, or premiums; volunteering with our committee; or any other questions—we will be happy to hear from you.